Falling Into Shadows
by Shikazu Nara
Summary: The war has been over for 5 years... We both lived and yet she still doesn't see me the way I hoped. I, Shikamaru Nara, am an idiot.
1. Falling into Shadows

A/N: So I've been gone for years. But now I actually had a creative thought! Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Falling Into Shadows

My name is Shikamaru Nara, and I am an idiot. At least as far as I'm aware I am. Everyone else sees me as a tactical genius, as well as the head of the Nara clan. I don't mind as such, but everyone keeps bitching about me not have a wife yet. Kind of hard to do when you can't have the woman you want to be with… But they don't care. The other clan elders keep saying I should get back with Temari no Sabaku… That ship sailed a long time ago. It was a different experience when she asked **ME** out, of all people. I mean yeah, we had a good thing, but we both knew deep down that it wouldn't work out between us…

Thinking about her reminds me that Chouji is in Sunakagure… Not that he is with her, but because he had an idea for a new type of food pill that needed research. Sakura has been a bit depressed ever since, but she knows it's for a good reason. He does visit once every month and a half to two months though. Those two are inseparable when he is in town. I hope he gets to come back for good soon… Asuma sensei would be proud of him; of all of us. Of Ino…

Things haven't been the same since the war… Ino was a wreck for the first few weeks, due to the death of her father. She wouldn't talk to anyone for the first few days… Eventually she opened back up though it was obvious that she was different. I tried to deny it myself, but I knew she had changed. Yet, I didn't care. To me she was still Ino Yamanaka. Not Ino, Heiress of the Yamanaka Clan, or Ino, Prodigy of Interrogation. Just loud, bossy, troublesome, beautiful Ino Yamanaka.

Although she opened back up, she was quieter about what was on her mind. For a while she was seeing Kiba… I damn near did him the same courtesy I did for that moron Hidan when I found out he was seeing that one chick, Karui, from Kumogakure behind Ino's back. Ino was heartbroken, again, after she found out and as always, she came to me….. For some odd reason I can't wrap my mind around, she doesn't want to be with me…

That's right, I Shikamaru Nara, have feelings for, dare I say love Ino Yamanaka. Yet she doesn't want to be with me… Chouji keeps telling me that I should stop wasting my time, but I can't change how I feel… It doesn't matter how many times I try to push those feelings away, something happens to make them come back even stronger… I never expected this… Sakura isn't much help in the matter since those two have somewhat grown apart…

I'm envious of Hinata and Naruto when I see those two walking around. Tsunade-sama had to step down from her position as Hokage after the war because she damaged her chakra system during her fight with the other Kages against Madara Uchiha. Naruto was immediately picked for the position. Those two were married on the day of his coronation as Hokage. That was about 5 years ago. Those two have a four year old running around too. Hinata is lucky because her patience paid off in the end. If only I were so lucky.

I've liked Ino for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately, although I'm labeled as a genius, I'm not good at showing how I feel… I usually just say 'Troublesome' and let it be at that… I also can't tell about others feelings about intimacy or such… I had no idea Chouji had a thing for Sakura until he asked me what he should do. Ironic to ask the guy who can't even get the woman he likes about relationship issues. What's worse is the advice I gave him worked. I told him to just be himself and he should be fine, and sure enough they went on a date that very night… I act like myself and I either annoy Ino or she doesn't catch on, or she does but ignores me…

I wish pops was here… I know he knew I liked Ino, but I never talked to him about it… I really regret not talking to him about it now… I have no idea how his lazy ass was able to get with mom, but he did it. I'll also never get to talk to Inoichi either…. Never get to ask his permission to take Ino out (not that I need to, but would out of respect). Or, if things somehow went down that road, ask for her hand in marriage…

So many thoughts… Why can't things just be simple? Things just keep getting more difficult with every passing day. I feel like any chances are slipping through my fingers. What happens if she finds someone else… Again… Or if she just shoots me down one day? Why does my mind have to bring up all the bad possibilities, instead of only the good ones?

I need to pull myself together. How can I even hope to be with her if all I can think about are the bad things? Not to mention here she comes from across the field…

* * *

"Hey Shikamaru." Ino greeted with a soft smile. "I should've figured you'd be here when you weren't at home," she replied as she sat down next to him on his favorite hillside. "Your mother said you had a troubled look on your face when you left… Is everything okay? I know you come up here when your mind is troubled. It's been happening a lot lately. That's so unlike you! What's on your mind, Shika?" she asked while poking me in the side.

"Tch. Troublesome… I doubt you'd understand…" I replied in my normal tone. "Oh, well sorry my puny little brain can't read your superior one!" Ino exclaimed. "I was only trying to see if you were okay!" she yelled as she started to get up. I quickly grabbed her by the wrist. "I didn't mean it like that, Ino… I just…" I stopped with a sigh. "You just what?" she asked confused. "I'm just really….. Confused…" I started, knowing full well that I was starting to blush. "I find that hard to believe, Shikamaru… What could **YOU **possibly be confused about?" she asked skeptically, but concerned. I looked her dead in the eye and said "You…"

She looked at me surprised and started to blush slightly. "Wh- What do you mean?" she asked quietly. "How I feel about you… Everytime I see you get hurt, I go insane inside… Even if I don't show it, because I don't want people to have to worry about me… I mean come on, you had to realize SOMETHING was up when I told Inuzuka that I would do the same thing to him that I did to Hidan…" I finished with a slight chuckle. "I guess…" she replied. "Look." I began again, "I know I never really said it, but I have… Feelings for you… The more I see you get hurt it's like my mind and my heart are falling into shadows. I keep getting negative thoughts that you won't ever be truly happy again… That you couldn't or wouldn't want to be happy with me…" I finish, looking away from her. "Shikamaru…" she whispers…


	2. Uncharted Territory

A/N: Here I am again. I haven't died out yet (I think lol). Let's see how it goes this time around. Warning! About to make some lemonade :P

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Uncharted Territory

I slowly look back towards her after she whispered to see her looking away. "What is it, Ino?" I asked uncertainly. She yanks out of my grasp, but doesn't run away. She slowly sits down while still looking away from me. Minutes of silence tick by with her saying nothing else. I start to feel anxious but force myself to calm down and observe. (A/N: anything between asterisks is going to be thoughts now. Didn't do it like that in the previous chapter since most of it was only Shikamaru's thoughts) * Don't get worried yet. Just observe.* I thought to myself. *She's very tense, but her breathing is normal. Obviously she didn't run off like I was half expecting her to.*

Ino glances over at me and asks "Why are you staring at me like that?" in a quiet voice. I quickly look away. *Shit. Should've realized she would know. Troublesome…* "…. Uhhhh…. Well I heard you say my name….." I replied with a shrug. "I was giving you my attention." I finished with a small laugh. "Oh…" is all she says before looking away again. "I…." she starts to say. "You…. What? Ino you're not making any sense." I say slightly getting annoyed. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT I FUCKING WANT ANYMORE!" she turns and yells at me. "There! Happy now, mister 'I have to know everything'!?" she yells again as she starts to cry.

"Ino….. I didn't mean to- I mean…." I stammer trying to figure out what to do. She starts to get up to leave. "Why are you leaving?" I asked. "Because obviously you don't have the patience to wait for me to talk without getting annoyed!" she replied. I jump up and shout "Don't have the patience? You said my name and then just stayed silent! Of course I'm going to get impatient! Then you yell you don't know what you want like I was trying to force intel out of an enemy or something! What the fuck?!" She stares at me shocked. "What? Surprised that I'm yelling?!" I continue. "I'm sorry I made you so upset, Nara-san…." she whispered and ran off. "Ino, wait!" I tried to call out in vain.

*Way to go, 'Genius'. Now she is crying and probably doesn't want a damn thing to do with you…* I thought while sinking to the ground. *I have to go apologize to her, even if she doesn't want to be around me. I owe her that much for blowing up like that.* I got up and headed for the place I knew she was headed, the New Memorial Stone. Naruto had decided to have it placed halfway between the Yamanaka clan and my clan in tribute to how much our fathers had contributed to the defeat of Madara and Obito Uchiha.

Just as I thought, she was sitting on a bench in front of the stone when I finally caught up with her. It took me a while to get there because I wanted to give her some time to herself before I tried to talk to her. I quietly sat down and pulled her into my shoulder. She gasped at first a little surprised but eased up and relaxed. "I thought you were still mad at me." She said in a huffy voice and crossed her arms. "Tch. Troublesome woman. I was annoyed and hurt, not mad. I didn't mean to make you feel like I was rushing you… I just… I wanted to know how you felt, ya know? I wanted to know what was on you mind."

We sat like that for about ten minutes or so before Ino spoke up. "Then why didn't you just say that instead of blowing up on me? You've never yelled at me before, Shika…" she asked in a mere whisper. "Because I didn't know how else to get through to you at the time after you started to yell… I've never wanted to yell at you, but I felt like I had to, I guess…" "Why?" she asked again. "Because I'm not that great at showing how I feel. Honestly you're the only person that makes me feel like that. With everyone else I know how to deal with them… You just make me feel stupid in the head, if that makes any sense…"

Again, there was that damned awkward silence. "I already told you I don't know what I want, though…" she whispered. "Then let me help you figure it out…" I whispered in her ear. She gasped slightly and I kissed her gently. She just stared at me as she touched her lips and grinned. She smirked a little and asked "You'd been planning this the whole time haven't you?" I gave her an obvious look of confusion and answered "No… That was just kinda on the spot… It felt weird not knowing what to expec-," I was cut off by Ino straddling me and sticking her tongue down my throat. It took me a second to realize what was going on before I returned the kiss and started to fight against her.

After a few minutes we stopped to breathe and she just looked at me in wonder. "What was that?" she asked flustered. "What? Am I that bad at kissing or something?" I asked confused. "No, that was unbelievable!" she replied. I went to scratch the back of my head when I realized how we were sitting. We were both in some of our casual attire, and her breasts were being pressed against my chest as she rested her head on my shoulder. I knew I was already turning a deep shade of red. *They are so soft and big.* I thought, my perverted side coming out. *Oh wait…. Oh shit….* I thought as Ino realized what was going on too. "Shikaaaa-kuuuuun… What's that I feel?" she asked with a certain coyness.

"Uhhhh…. It's uhhhhhh…" I started to stutter again. She started to giggle and whispered in my ear "You're so cute when you don't have an answer." As she said this she was slowly grinding against my hard on. "Tch, troublesome woman." I managed to grunt out. "You know damn well what that is." I replied with a smirk as I grabbed one of her tits in my right hand and her ass with my left. "Ahhhh….. Shika-kun what are you doing?" She asked playfully. "I could ask you the same Ino-chan."

She quickly got off of me and grabbed my hand. "She leaned close to my ear and whispered lustfully, "My place. NOW." I nodded and we ran to her place. After we got inside we were all over each other. Our hands were I tangled in each other's hair, kissing each other with a kind of passion I had never had before. She got my shirt off and started to rake her fingers down my back. "Holy shit…." I had to say out loud just from the pure ecstasy of the feeling. Not wanting to be out done, I quickly got her out of her tight lavender t-shirt and undid her matching bra so I could get better access to her breasts. I gladly took one into my mouth as I lightly pinched her other nipple. "Hey that's not….. Ahhhhhh! Fair! Shika, you cheater!" she moaned out. "Who said this was a game?" I inquired. She quickly flipped me on to my back and was about to take off my pants when I finally came out of my lust filled haze.

I grab her hand and said "Ino, wait." She looked at me surprised and confused. "What is it?" she asked. "Are you sure this is what you want? Or is this just out of lust, on a whim?" I asked looking away. "You really care about me that much, don't you Shikamaru?" I looked her in the eye and replied "Yes, Ino. With all that I am." She leaned in and kissed me again, this time more slowly and passionately and less lustfully. "I'm sure," she replied.

She continued to remove my pants along with my boxers to reveal the rest of me. "Oh my….." was all she could say as she grabbed a hold of me. "You've done well to keep this a secret!" she said before she flicked the tip with her tongue. I threw my head back as she went down on me for what seemed like forever. "Oh shit… Ino I'm gonna…!" I began to say as she picked up the pace and took all of me in her mouth as I blew my load. "Dear Kami, you're good at that…" I managed to say as she got up licking her lips. She giggled and made a pouty face. "What's wrong, my love?" I asked. "You finished without me." She pouted.

I smirked and had her on her back in an instant. "You didn't think I wouldn't return the favor did you?" I asked as she turned a deep red and looked away. "My troublesome woman." I chuckled as I got her out of her lavender skirt and panties. I gentle started to rub her clit. "Unnnnn…. Don't tease me like that!" she screamed as she grabbed my hair and shoved my face in. *Now who's being impatient* I thought with a smirk as I started to fuck her with my tongue. "OH KAMI YES, SHIKAMARU! DON'T YOU DARE FUCKING STOP!" she screamed. Again, after what seemed like forever… "YES, YES, RIGHT THERE! I'M CUMMING!" she moaned as I got a mouthful of her sweet juice.

She flipped me back over and kissed me relentlessly. "I… Need… You…. RIGHT…. NOW!" she said in between breaths. She then proceeded to take control again as she straddled my cock. "HOLY FUCK!" she exclaimed as she slid down on me. She started to ride hard and fast. "IT'S SO FUCKING GOOD!" she screamed as I flipped her over to take back control. "KAMI, IT'S SO TIGHT!" I yelled as I began pumping into her harder and faster. "YOU'RE GONNA DRIVE ME INSANE! MORE, MORE! I'M GOING TO CUM! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" "HOLY SHIT! ME TOO!" I exclaimed as I pulled out realizing we didn't have a condom.

After we cleaned up, we laid down together. "Shika-kun?" she asked gently. I was so exhausted that all I replied with was "Uhn?" "Why'd you pull out?" I nearly fell out of the bed. "INO?!" I exclaimed as she started to burst with laughter. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" she said. I looked at her dumbfounded and gently kissed her. "I love you, Ino." I said as I laid down to sleep with my arms around her. "And I love you, Shikamaru." she replied as she ran her fingers through my hair.


End file.
